Stargate SG-1: Children of the Gods
"Children of the Gods" is the premiere episode of the American science fiction television series Stargate SG-1. Directed by Mario Azzopardi and written by series creators Jonathan Glassner and Brad Wright, "Children of the Gods" first aired on Showtime on Sunday, July 27th, 1997. This two-hour episode continues the storyline first presented in the 1994 film Stargate. It expands on the alien antagonists from the film, who are now identified as the Goa'uld and reveals that they are a parasitic race, whose true forms are small serpentine symbiotes that reside in human hosts. The System Lord of the Goa'uld, Apophis, finds a way to access the Stargate on Earth and abducts an Air Force Sergeant. In response, General George Hammond calls Colonel Jack O'Neill back to active service. Along with astrophysicist Captain Samantha Carter, O'Neill and the rest of his team must track down Doctor Daniel Jackson who is still living on Abydos and bring him back to Earth to help them face this new and awesome threat. Synopsis It has been more than a year since the military's ill-fated expedition through the Stargate to the planet Abydos and the Earth portal has remained quiet ever since. Located inside a secure chamber many levels below Cheyenne Mountain, the Stargate is guarded by a small contingent of Air Force officers. Without warning, the portal suddenly opens and several armed, aliens emerge through the gate. The leader of the group is adorned in gold-plated armor and is attended by several armed serpent guards. They kill the soldiers in the room and abduct Sergeant Carol Weterings. Afterward, they disappear back through the Stargate. Air Force general George S. Hammond is called to Cheyenne Mountain to investigate the matter. His first order of business is to contact the man who led the original Abydos mission, Colonel Jack O'Neill. O'Neill gives a briefing to General Hammond and lies about the outcome of the previous mission. Hoping to secure Earth from future alien threats, Hammond prepares to send a nuclear warhead through the Stargate. O'Neill eventually tells him the truth and indicates that his original team scientist, Daniel Jackson, as well as 5,000 innocent civilians are still alive on Abydos. Hammond cancels the order to send in the warhead. Once they confirm that Daniel Jackson is still alive, O'Neill is called back into active service. Hammond calls together a meeting of his top personnel and experts including Captain Samantha Carter. Carter and O'Neill have a rough introduction and Jack informs her of his distaste for scientists. After listing her qualifications, Carter tells him that she is more than qualified to be involved with the Stargate program. ]] Colonel O'Neill, Captain Carter, Major Kawalsky and Ferretti go through the Stargate to Abydos. They arrive inside a temple where they reunite with Daniel Jackson and dozens of Abydonians. O'Neill is happy to see Skarra, a young boy he befriended during the first Stargate mission. They also meet Daniel's wife Sha're. O'Neill tells Jackson about the attack at Cheyenne Mountain, but Daniel assures them that nobody has made use of the Abydos gate. The alien invaders who attacked Cheyenne Mountain now come through the Stargate and raid the Abydos temple. The soldiers and Abydonians fight back, but many are killed. A gold-armored alien, Apophis, kidnaps Sha're and Skaara and escapes back through the gate. Ferretti is gravely injured, but manages to memorize the gate address that Apophis used before leaving. Determined to rescue his wife, Daniel Jackson agrees to accompany O'Neill and Carter back to Cheyenne Mountain. After issuing a report to the President of the United States, General Hammond receives permission to form nine covert teams whose sole function is to explore worlds accessible through the Stargate and determine any viable threats to the planet Earth that may exist. He assigns Colonel O'Neill control of the first team, dubbed SG-1. Daniel Jackson requests to be part of SG-1 as a consultant. Major Kawalsky is given command over SG-2. Using Ferretti's information, they dial a gate address to a world known as Chulak. General Hammond tells them that they have twenty-four hours to assess the situation and, if possible, rescue Sha're and Skarra. Once the deadline is reached, the Stargate will be sealed off and they will be unable to return. On Chulak, Apophis, leader of the alien race known as the Goa'uld searches for a suitable host for his new queen. He inspects the Air Force sergeant that he had abducted from Cheyenne Mountain. The Goa'uld are actually serpentine parasites that live inside human host bodies. He presents his queen to the sergeant, but the queen disapproves of the selection and the woman is killed. He then brings her to Sha're and the queen finds that she would indeed be a suitable host for her. The parasite exits the body of it's "midwife" and enters Sha're, taking full command of her. .]] SG-1 arrives on Chulak and meet some of the indigenous life forms of the planet, a tribe of monks. They make their way to a citadel where the Goa'uld are holding Sha're and Skaara. Apophis' loyal guards, the Jaffa, led by a dark-skinned warrior named Teal'c captures SG-1 and brings them to a chamber where they are imprisoned along with several Abydonians. Jack reunites with Scarra once again. Apophis appears and presents Sha're as his new queen. He instructs his serpent guards to cull the prisoners for viable hosts with orders to kill the rest. Skarra is taken and the guards open fire on the innocent Abydonians. As chaos ensues, O'Neill takes note of a glint of doubt in Tealc's eye. He suspects that Apophis' First Prime is not as loyal to the Goa'uld as he would appear. Jack yells at Teal'c, telling him that he can save these people. Teal'c responds, "Many have said that..." then turns and fires his staff weapon at his own men and continues "...but you are the first I believe could do it!" Jack manages to get his hands on a staff weapon and the group fight their way out of the chamber. Teal'c is now among their number and they race back towards the Stargate. They see Apophis, his followers, as well as Sha're and Skarra (who now reveals himself to be a host for a Goa'uld) at the gate. A Goa'uld death glider descends from the air and opens fire on the ground troops. Kawalsky's SG-2 lays down suppressive fire, allowing Jack and Teal'c the chance to cover themselves. They are too late however, to stop Apophis and his entourage from entering the Stargate. Jack is unable to determine the gate address they used and there is no way of knowing where they went. Jaffa warriors emerge from the forest and open fire on SG-1 and SG-2. Kawalsky uses Claymores to keep the enemy at bay while Carter dials the address back to Earth. The teams begin filing through the gate, but a Goa'uld parasite exits the abdomen of a dying Jaffa and strikes at Kawalsky, infecting him. Both units get through the Stargate just as the deadline approaches, bringing with them several refugees as well as Teal'c. Teal'c surrenders his weapon to Jack O'Neill as a show of good faith and he is taken away for questioning. In a private meeting with General Hammond, Jack requests that he places Teal'c on SG-1. Hammond confesses that such a decision is not up to him and that the President is very interested in the notion of having an alien combatant on Earth that they can study. Jack doesn't like the sound of this, and vows that he will do everything he can to do right be Teal'c for saving his life. As soldiers, administrators and medical personnel labor to find a way to house the refugees, Kawalsky silently observes his surroundings. His eyes begin to glow. He is now a Goa'uld. Cast Principal Cast Guest Stars Casting There are several casting differences between the original film and the television series. In the film, Jack O'Neill was played by actor Kurt Russell. In the series, he is played by Richard Dean Anderson. Another difference between the two characters is the spelling of Jack's surname. In the film, O'Neil was spelled with only one L, while in the series it is spelled with two. This becomes a recurring gag throughout the program as Jack often addresses himself as "O'Neill, with two Ls". The other major casting change was that of Doctor Daniel Jackson. In the film, he was played by actor James Spader. In the series, he is played by Michael Shanks. Shanks deliberately patterned his speech and mannerisms after Spader's version of the character. These qualities were diminished as the series progressed allowing Shanks the ability to develop the character on his own. Major Charles Kowalsky was a supporting character in both the film and the first few episodes of SG-1. In the movie he was played by John Diel. In the series, he is played by Jay Acovone. Alexis Cruz reprises his role of Skarra. Cruz played Skarra in the film and also five episodes of the series. In Stargate, Sha're was played by actress Mili Avital. In Stargate SG-1, she was played by Polynesian actress Vaitiare Bandera in three episodes of the series. Notes & Trivia * This episode is included on disc one of the Stargate SG-1: The Complete First Season DVD collection as well as the Stargate SG-1: The Portal Collection and the Stargate SG-1: The Complete Series Collection box set collections. * This is the only episode of the series to show female frontal nudity. It's inclusion in the pilot was at the instruction of the producers at Showtime. Subsequent airings, as well as the re-dubbed "Final Cut" DVD have the nudity removed. * The hand device that Apophis uses to hypnotize his victims is called a Kara kesh. * Sha're's Goa'uld symbiote is later identified as Amaunet. * Skarra's Goa'uld symbiote is later identified as Klorel. See also External Links * * * "Children of the Gods" at Wikipedia * "Children of the Gods" at the Stargate Wiki Category:1997/Episodes Category:July, 1997/Episodes